Curriculum

• In the first three weeks of the program there are no regular lectures yet!
• In the first week you get to know the Film University: all programs introduce themselves, there are lab tours, introduction to the infrastructure and the technical equipment.
• In the second and third week you participate with the new master students of all programs in a workshop in order to get to know your fellow students (university-wide) and to work on a common creative project.

This course will introduce students to a broad array of hardware and software used in the production of multimedia experiences. Participants will develop a broad literacy in the field of new technologies. The course will focus on hands-on production and rapid project-making.

With this course, students will

• learn how to use a broad array of new technologies.
• understand specificities of each media platform.
• learn how to combine specific technologies.
• develop an ability to quickly learn how to use any new technology.

The course Creative Coding I: Design and Communication explores different forms of communication, be is through visuals or text for example and some of the resulting data. Applications focus on a creative context, investigating aesthetics, experience and insight, rather than practicality. Students acquire fundamental knowledge about web technologies as communication framework and will be able to develop simple web applications from front to backend. At the same time, students gain the skills to solve complex problems in a structured manner and to apply intermediate to advanced programming techniques in Processing and JavaScript.

With this course, students will

• be able to write code and to develop software,
• acquire fundamental knowledge of web technologies and develop these,
• gain an overview of languages, techniques and algorithms in the context of design and communication
• use software development in a creative context, and
• implement specific design goals.

The course Creative Coding II: Interaction and Interfaces builds on the concepts presented in Creative Coding I and introduces the software development toolkit openFrameworks. openFrameworks is a creative coding toolkit dedicated to realtime development written in C++. We will specifically use it

• to introduce the C++ programming language & corresponding build processes
• to explore object-orientation and realtime development with C++
• to get familiar with using a software development kits

Moreover, the course will present different techniques and technologies of graphics, image and audio processing. They will gradually be incorporated into the artistic programming exercises.

With this course, students will

• understand and work with a complex SDK like openFrameworks
• develop, compile and build their own C++ applications
• apply object-oriented software design with C++
• apply different computational techniques in an artistic sketch
• express and refelect on their artistic ideas with openFrameworks

The course is split into lectures and exercises. The course is held in English.

This course provides you with an introduction to the theoretical backgrounds of digital audio and graphics software applications. The first part of the course recaps fundamental mathematical concepts required for the understanding & development of audio-visual applications before we will dive into the various specifics of, i.e., digital audio processing and computer graphics applications.

With this course, students will

• Understand mathematics as a tool to render real-world objects & their relationships into formal concepts.
• Understand the fundamentals of digital audio & graphics processing and applying them to AV software application development.
• Use the technological aspects in artistic and creative applications.

The course is split into lecture and exercise parts. The course is held in English.

This course introduces participants to procedural and simulation algorithms for 2D and 3D graphics. Focus lies on the creation of patterns and abstracted design. Topics are reflected from all sides: their underlying formal theories, their practical implementations as well as their design. Implementation frameworks include Houdini, p5 and/or Processing, and GLSL.

With this course, students will

• gain an overview about techniques and their capabilities,
• understand formal theories and algorithms,
• develop practical implementation experiences, and
• implement specific design goals.

The course is split into lectures and exercises. The course is held in English.

These classes are serveral separated workshops taught in blocks and give time to work on your own individual projects. Workshops are usually taught by external industry experts and are organized each year anew.

Exemplary workshops that have been offered regularly so far:

• Introduction to VR, AR and Unity
  The theoretical part of the class gives an overview of the early days of VR/AR, its communities in California and Berlin, presents influential projects and discusses VR/AR's current state and what the future might hold.  On the practical side, students get an introduction to available display devices and to Unity3D for VR. One section of the class is dedicated to Unity's coding interface. During the class students will work on a first, small project to directly apply what is taught in the class. Then students have a couple of weeks to work on an individual project. At the beginning of the summer term the class will meet once more to discuss these projects.  

• Physical Computing
  This course gives an hands-on introduction to physical computing with the electronic prototyping platforms Arduino and Raspberry Pi. The course enables students to create their own interactive electronic objects with Soft- and Hardware.

• Mixed Reality / Projection Mapping
  This course enables students to design content for and execute the technical setup of projection mappings such as a projection onto a building. As an example a projection mapping for the Filmmuseum building is discussed. The workshop leads to a collaborative projection mapping project, which has to be presented in the following winter term.

• Interactive Digital Art
  The class deals with the questions of how draw in and engage audiences within interactive digital art. On the example of specific projects the lecturer gives insights on how to bring technology and art together and his artistic research practices. The class will also include practical coding examples as well as the development of project ideas. 

• Music Computing
  This course builds on the concepts presented in ‘Theoretical Background of Audio and Graphics’ and introduces the software development toolkit ‘SonicPi’ for music computing. We will start with an exploration of the SonicPi IDE and its programming language Ruby. Then we will look into the relevant audio programming concepts that SonicPi implements as well as the musical concepts and capabilites for live music making supported by the toolkit. In this context, we will also look into the different musical genres that can be created using SonicPi. Last but not least we will explore different application scenarios for music computing and live music coding.

• Creative Audio Programming
  Two practical sessions enable students to code audiovisual and interactive pieces suitable for the web. In particular we will explore Processing's p5.Sound library and other libraries related to sound and interaction. The workshop is oriented toward creating an unusual interactive musical instrument / interface. The final projects will have the opportunity to be exhibited online.

• Data Visualisation
  In the first part of this workshop students explore the different techniques for retriving data (cultural, political, scientific etc.) from the web. In the second part of the workshop visualisation and sonification techniques are investigated in regard to both, an optimal comprehension of facts and details of the data as well as an intuitive understanding of the story of the data and emotional contexts.

• Materials & Shading

• Machine Learning I & II

• Live Coding

• Augemented Reality

• Non-linear Storytelling

• XR Art Concepts

• Spatial Audio

• Production Insights

Workshops are held in English.

This course enables participants to pitch project ideas, present work in progress concisely and to give and receive constructive feedback.

The fundamentals of project-pitching, -presentation and -feedback are taught and during the term all participants practice these concepts by regularly presenting the status of their current projects and ideas for future projects to their peers. The group gives feedback and discusses the project’s contexts. Interesting external projects can also be presented and discussed.

The course is held in English.

In Academic Readings I: Arts & Humanities the participants practice to read academic publications from the humanities, artistic research and media studies. Specific topics include audiovisual media, media theory, cinema, performance and interaction. Participants evaluate each publication on basis of summarizing presentations and through the discussions with the group.

With this course, students will

• read and understand research publications,
• judge the content of a publication in terms of relevance and soundness,
• summarize and present a publication, and
• develop text skimming while still grasping its content.

In Academic Readings II: Computer Science the participants practice to read publications of computer science research. Specific topics include computer graphics, sound, virtual reality, augmented reality and interaction techniques. All chosen publications are the most recent state of the art and come from high quality venues. Participants evaluate each publication on basis of summarizing presentations and through the discussions with the group.

With this course, students will

• practice to read and understand scientific research publications,
• be able to judge the content of a publication in terms of novelty, relevance and technical soundness,
• get a general idea about the current state of the art in the above-mentioned fields, and
• practice in summarizing and presenting a research topic and publications.

The courses are held in English.

This course enables the participants to understand and to conduct academic research. Academic methodologies are taught by the example of computer science research. Topics include basic principles of scientific research in general, how to conduct certain research tasks in particular and the processes of writing about and publishing work.

As exercise a full conference will be simulated in all its parts, from submitting a paper over reviewing other work to giving a presentation.

With this course, students will

• gain an academic and systematic approach to solve complex problems,
• be able to present concepts, procedures and results in writing, and
• gain practical experience in conducting research and publishing a paper.

The course is held in English.

Every semester an industry expert, artist or researcher is invited to the Film University to present their work and to hold a workshop. Students are able to make suggestions on who to invite.

Workshops are held in English.

• For "Advanced Production Techniques" you can chose elective classes from the context of Creative Technologies.

• For "Elective Studies" you can chose any class you like, also from other universities and approved online courses.

• Most courses are held in German.

• There are university-wide project presentations every Tuesday from 5.00-7.00 p.m. You need to attend 10 of these presentations.
• Presentations are from a large variety of topics from all areas of the Film University for all students together.
• Most presentations are held in German.

• The Master Thesis must include a practical and a theoretical part, which should reference each other.
• The thesis has to be presented to and discussed with your CTech peers and professors during a colloquium.
• You are free to chose to complete your thesis in German or English.